The investment in the construction industry in Uruguay soared 26.45% last year over 2011 and reached seven billion dollars, of which 40% correspond to the Brazilian-Chilean pulp mill, Montes del Plata, the country’s largest investment in years equivalent to 2 billion dollars. However there are storm clouds ahead.
One out of four Italians up to 40 years of age survive with the help of their parents, according to a report on “Youth and the crisis” released this week in Milan. Another report from the Italian national statistics institute (ISTAT) says millions of Italians have or are close to falling below the poverty line.
Latin America's trade deficit with China jumped to 6.6 billion dollars last year from only 150 million in 2011, according to an analysis by online publication Latinvex based on new data from the IMF. Total trade between China and Latin America grew 8% last year to 255.5bn which means the region’s trade with China is growing faster than with the United States, 6.2%.
The Federal Reserve's monetary stimulus is helping the US economy recover, and the central bank needs to see further signs of traction before taking its foot off the gas, central bank chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday.
Uruguayan President Jose Mujica begins on Wednesday the longest and most ambitious of his overseas trips hoping to convince China to invest in infrastructure projects that are crucial for the development of the country and its foreign trade: a deep water port and recovering the rail cargo network.
Pope Francis criticised what he called savage capitalism on a visit to a food kitchen on Tuesday, in an address in which he called for the values of generosity and charity to be revived.
Uruguay's main economic problem is high inflation, and policymakers will continue to use interest rates and bank reserve requirements to bring it under control, Vice President Danilo Astori said on Tuesday. Consumer prices in Uruguay rose 8.14% in the 12 months through April, far outside the country's official annual target range of 4 to 6%.
Prime Minister David Cameron has urged British overseas territories to get their house in order and sign up to international treaties on tax. He wrote to 10 territories and crown dependencies, including the Cayman Islands and the Isle of Man, which operate low-tax regimes.
Shares in cruise company Carnival have fallen more than 7% after it issued a profit warning its second in just three months. Carnival, which operates ships under brands such as P&O and Costa Cruises, said full year revenues, which were expected to be flat, would now fall 2-3%.
Chile is the third most attractive country for copper mining investments behind Canada and Australia according to a report from the Chilean Copper Committee, Cochilco that includes fifteen leading countries in the industry and was released this week by Mining minister Hernan de Solminihac in Santiago.